Singaporean teen apologises for killer clown prank

A screengrab of Joel Wong's killer clown video that has since been removed. Image via YouTube.

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THE prankster who dressed up as a killer clown to terrify people in several locations in Singapore has apologised, claiming he did not consider the repercussions of his actions when filming the now-deleted video that he first posted on YouTube.

Joel Wong has since posted a second video, in which he claimed the police summoned him and his friends who were involved for questioning on Monday, over the incident.

He claimed the police were aware of the original prank and had advised him against uploading the content, but the 19-year old posted it regardless.

“If there was anyone out there that I offended in any way, you know, I’m sorry, I really am sorry.

“I did not ever mean for this prank to go bad, but it definitely went bad… It’s definitely my fault and I apologise,” he said in the apology video.

In the six-minute-long clip, Wong also tried to explain his actions, claiming at one point that he had been ready to face retaliation from the people he frightened for the prank.

He said he was ready “get punched”, to “take a hit”, and that he had not planned to fight back.

“It’s natural, I can’t blame you, I’m not going to sue you even if I can,” he said.

The teen added that if viewers had observed his actions in the video carefully, they would have seen that he had not advanced toward his victims, and had instead been the one who retreated after scaring them.

“I just played it very carefully,” he said, before admitting that he should not have targeted the elderly in the prank.

“I’m just so glad they are all fine, they did not get a heart attack. Its a lesson learnt, for sure it’s a lesson learnt, I will not repeat it again,” he said.

Police investigations into the matter are reportedly ongoing and the public has been advised against such activities.

The killer clown prank phenomenon has been catching on in several countries, including the United States and Australia. In the prank, people don clown outfits and roam the streets, woods or open spaces, on the lookout for victims to scare.

According to Huffington Post, the phenomenon started in the U.S. back in August, after a clown was sighted wandering in the woods in South Carolina.

After the sighting, the craze spread like wildfire, inspiring copycats. Most of the pranks have been relatively harmless, however, with clowns just wandering about and scaring passers-by.

But things quickly escalated, with menacing clowns armed with weapons like knives, chasing people to scare them.